Sluggish

When dealing with doctors, nurses, first responders, or anyone new to your medical history/case, language is very important.
There are certain phrases or terms that may mean exactly what you think it means, but may mean something entirely different in the medical world. So, when describing symptoms, things can get easily lost in translation if we are not careful.

It usually happens when the situation is urgent. Flustered, panicky, scared people can often misconstrue what they are actually meaning to say.
One of the most important words to be cautious using (in my opinion) is the word Depressed.
In the medical community, using the word 'depression' can immediately change the way anyone handles your medical case. It can alter how your pain and suffering is viewed. You could be suddenly placed in a column of mental illness that does not reflect what you are experiencing. 
For instance - after my episode on Sunday, I have been feeling sluggish, exhausted, weakened, and sapped of energy. These words are all direct synonyms of depression. A depressed mood. Depressed energy. Depressed demeanor, but not the capital Depression that is thought of automatically. I do not, however, feel depressed in the medical sense of the word. I do not feel hopeless or uncontrollably sad. I have not lost enjoyment nor have become a shell of my former being.
I am simply worn out. Sore. Worse for wear.

Another common term that people often misuse in times of stress or emergency is Internal Bleeding.
While bleeding from an internal source, like intestines, stomach, bladder, is technically bleeding internally, the term 'Internal Bleeding' means something quite different. It usually indicates bleeding within the open spaces in the abdomen or chest, leaking from some organ, risking sepsis and all kinds of potentially terminal complications. It insinuates hemorrhaging. Unknown severe injury.

While any kind of bleed from organs can be dangerous, internal bleeding is a much more serious affliction than bleeding from an internal source.

Another one commonly misused is 'Giving Blood'.
When a patient gets bloodwork done, although technically they are giving blood to be tested, the term 'Giving Blood' is primarily associated with donating blood; going to Blood Services and getting blood taken from you in order to help emergency patients who have been injured and need a blood transfusion. 'Giving Blood' = giving blood for transfusions. 'Getting Bloodwork Done' or 'Bloodwork' is when a patient goes to a phlebotomist to get blood drawn and tested for diagnostic purposes.

The last term - and one that I have learned to modify over the past few years - is 'Chronic Pain'. This one is particularly difficult because it is not the same understanding between all physicians. Chronic Pain, I had thought, was very literally JUST pain that will likely never subside. Pain caused by a chronic illness. That makes sense, right?
Apparently, that is not exactly what it means within the medical system. Many physicians consider 'Chronic Pain' to be persistent pain from an unknown or already-healed source.
For instance, like breaking your leg, having it fixed and restored, but still experiencing the same level of pain. It refers to a permanent change in the brain chemistry that registers a pain that is not actually there. The PAIN is real, the source, however, is no longer present. The brain registers danger, pain, and suffering, even if the source is healed.
So even though I experience Chronic Pain - persistent pain caused by chronic illness - it is not the Chronic Pain as physicians describe. When I say I experience chronic pain, it is from very measurable joint and bone erosion, intestinal inflammation, joint inflammation, swelling, and other sources of inflammation. The source - the disease - remains chronic, so the pain also remains chronic. Calling it Chronic Pain, however, could be damaging to a doctor's understanding, especially in hurried scenario with someone not connected to my case.

Though it may not seem all that important, when dealing with medical professionals, especially in a fast-paced scenario, language can make or break a situation. They can lead to misdiagnoses, misunderstandings, and even brushing off patients. While the responsibility should not be placed entirely on the patient to know exactly what specific medical terms mean, it does help to know some of these common blunders.
The best way to help the medical community help you is by being honest about your experiences. Describe in detail what you mean instead of clinging to commonly used medical phrases that we see on our favourite hospital dramas. Worse yet, do not use language from WebMD or any internet medical site unless we know exactly what that term implies.

Being a chronic illness patient is a learning curve. Learning how to communicate, how to describe symptoms and pain, learning to decipher diagnoses and evaluations from our physicians. We are all trying to help one another and trying to understand each other. So why not make it easier?

What are some language blunders you have made when dealing with patients/doctors/nurses/911??